Flu Vaccine

Naomi - posted on 11/29/2010
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Hello, I am contemplating whether or not I wan't my almost 6 month old baby boy to get vaccinated for the flu. I myself have NEVER had a flu vaccine, nor do I ever plan to, and I just cannot see why I should inject that into my babies body either. He is EBF and I make sure he gets 10-15 minutes of sunlight everyday, and he is super healthy. So, point is...I would like to know other mom's opinions on this specific vaccination, if you got it for yourself, for your little one, and if you did, how they reacted to it, or if they recieved the flu anyways...Thank you!!!

I just feel so much pressure to vaccinate, but I don't think they are all completely necesary, and kinda lean more towards the fact they are a money making industry...

My daughter is almost 13 months old and has never had any vaccine. Especially not the flu vaccine.

My daughter is also breastfed and I get extreme pressure and guilt trips to vaccinate but for my individual child, the risks outweigh the benefits. I can't speak for every child but I know mine is better off without them.

Vitamin D from direct sunlight or supplement form is "several times more effective in preventing the flu than the flu shot".

It sounds like you are doing a great job giving him everything he needs and that's probably all he needs. From breastfeeding, if you come in contact with the flu virus (even if you don't get a full-blown flu), he will receive natural antibodies through your milk to protect him naturally and much more effectively than anything synthesized. He would probably have more chance of getting the flu or other complications from having the vaccine.

Now onto the ingredients.

Growth Medium

Fertilized chicken eggs are used as the growth medium for influenza virus, and trace amounts of egg white protein (ovalbumin) are reported in each of the 2009-2010 vaccines. All but two manufacturers (Sanofi Pasteur and ID Biomedical) used antibiotics to prevent bacterial contamination of the chicken eggs. The specific antibiotics used include kanamicin, gentamicin (E-coli resistant antibiotic), neomycin and polymyxin B (Side-effects include neurotoxicity and acute renal tubular necrosis). People with egg and antibiotic allergies should read the manufacturer's product literature prior to receiving a flu shot.

(According to the CDC website, the 4 different brands of vaccines are tested on children one year of age and older because it is not recommended to give children egg whites until one year of age and most babies have not had eggs or antibiotics before one year so you have no idea how your child can react.)

Detergents

Once the virus has been allowed to replicate in chicken eggs, it must be recovered. This step involves the addition of chemical detergents. Examples of detergents used in the 2009-2010 vaccine include sodium taurodeoxycholate (A bile acid. Bile acids are steroid acids found predominantly in the bile of mammals), polyethylene glycol (A laxative sold under brand names MiraLAX, Softlax, ClearLax, GlycoLax, etc.), p-isooctylphenyl ether (used as antiseptic) and octoxynol-10. These are usually measured in terms of parts per million. Each manufacturer specifies the type and maximum concentration of the chemicals used in its brand.

Inactivating Agents

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the viruses in the flu shot are "inactivated," which means that they are no longer capable of causing infection. Technically, viruses are never alive, so they cannot be "killed" as bacteria are. Vaccines approved for the 2009-2010 flu season used beta-propionolactone ("reasonably expected to be a human carcinogen" (IARC, 1999). It was once widely used in the manufacture of acrylic acid and its esters, but its use has been mostly phased out in favor of safer and less expensive alternatives except for it's use in vaccines) or formaldehyde to inactivate the virus. ("Formaldehyde can be toxic, allergenic, and carcinogenic. At concentrations above 0.1 ppm in air formaldehyde can irritate the eyes and mucous membranes, resulting in watery eyes. Formaldehyde inhaled at this concentration may cause headaches, a burning sensation in the throat, and difficulty breathing, as well as triggering or aggravating asthma symptoms. Although many studies have failed to show a relationship between formaldehyde and asthma, a recent review of studies has shown a strong association between exposure to formaldehyde and the development of childhood asthma. Chronic exposure at higher levels, starting at around 1.9 ppm, has been shown to result in significant damage to pulmonary function, resulting in reduced maximum mid-expiratory flow and forced vital capacity. Recent studies have also shown a positive correlation between exposure to formaldehyde and the development of leukemia, particularly myeloid leukemia.)

Each manufacturer's product literature specifies the exact agent used and the maximum concentration present in the final dose.

Buffer Solution

According to the FDA and manufacturers' product literature, H1N1/09 and seasonal flu injection vaccines are suspended in sterile phosphate-buffered salt solutions with a pH and concentration similar to the fluid that surrounds the cells in the human body. Other ingredients of the buffer solution may include gelatin (derived from the collagen inside animals' skin and bones), arginine and sucrose.

Gelatin from pigs is used as a stabilizer. Arginine is an amino acid component of protein. Sucrose is common table sugar.

Preservatives

All FDA-approved multi-dose vials of seasonal and H1N1 vaccine contain thimerisol, a mercury-containing compound used a preservative. (Thimerasol is listed as "Highly Toxic (USA) Very Toxic (EU).

A flu shot dispensed from a multi-dose vial contains about 25 micrograms (0.000025 g) of mercury as thimerisol. The manufacturer's product insert will always confirm the presence and quantity of mercury for a specific product.

The most important thing is to be well educated on exactly what you are putting in your child's body. If you believe that the benefits outweigh the risks for your child and you choose to vaccinate OR you decide that the risks are unnecessary and the benefits are not much, you can rest assured that you made that decision based on knowledge rather than fear, guilt, or misleading/incorrect information spread by the media. We all just want to do what's best for our kids =)

You only hear about an outbreak of these in communities where parents have decided not to vaccinate their child

This is actually incorrect. Most of the vaccinated illnesses were already on the decline prior to the vaccines being put into use. Chalk it up to healthier diets, improved sanitation and an understanding that isolation of victims prevents the spread of disease.

In recent outbreaks of disease a large portion of those ill actually were vaccinated.

I understand the pressure, just do whats best for you!My daughter only got her 3 months shots, and I didnt feel comfortable giving any more shots/vaccines after reading up on what is in the vaccines.I will not get the flu vaccine myself and I plan to help my daughter build a strong immunity, and have the proper care to get through this flu season with only natural holistic medicines :D

There are 2 great groups on FB- The Truth About Vaccines and Proud Parents of Unvaccinated Children. Both have TONS of good information and support for parents who chose to forego vaccinations. I am not impressed with the rationale behind them, and my 1 year old daughter is completely unvaccinated. She is partially BF (part formula b/c I work and just can't keep up with her when I'm not with her) and she completely healthy. My sister's kids are EBF and totally vaccinated and have come down with hand foot and mouth, multiple ear infections, croup, the list goes on. Vaccines deplete a baby's immune system, rendering them incapable of defeating everday invaders. The flu shot is especially scary because it is exempt from the "no thimerisol" rule the rest are subjected to.

My son is vaccinated but I never knew of anything else until after he had all of them. Plus after reading about all the deaths in the UK because of the people who followed the doc who's license has now been taken away, lost their children due to not vaccinating and the diseases coming back. Just scares me. I won't do the flu shot again. I did it last year with my son and I because of H1N1 and we got all the side effects. We're pretty healty people so I am hoping everyone else gets it which will keep the few that don't vaccinate relatively healthy.

I am saddened by all of the essential hatred for vaccines. If you need proof of their need look at the lack of polio, mumps, etc in this day and age. You only hear about an outbreak of these in communities where parents have decided not to vaccinate their child. Choosing to vaccinate is not a bad thing. It helps a person's immunity without them actually getting that particular illness, which in my book is far better than just hoping Vit. D will work when a child does come down with the flu. Vaccines are preventative medicine. How many mothers out there are willing to risk their child's life or at the very least be willing to put their LO through so much suffering just because they think it is bad. Vaccines are a great scientific breakthrough. How wonderful is it that my child doesn't have to fight off the flu which could potentially lead to pneumonia and weeks of sickness!

According to the CDC website on how effective the flu vaccine is, they say that it is generally 50-70% effective. Which basically means the chance of being protected or not protected is pretty even and it MIGHT not even work. They cannot give more than educated guesses and a statement that they are continually monitoring the results of the shots as they are administered. In young children, it's pretty much the same. They say that the shot is 66% effective in "well-matched seasons", which they define as, "when the "match" between vaccine viruses and circulating viruses is close".This statistic is describing children under 9 years old who have had TWO 2010-2011 flu shots.http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/vaccinee...

Compare those statistics with their statement on another part of the website that "In the United States, on average only 5% to 20% of the population gets the flu." 194 million people did not get the flu vaccine last year. That's 63% of the population even though doctors and the media were pushing everyone to get the vaccine.That means that 80-95% of people in the US each year will not even get the flu whether they have had the shot or not....

My youngest has an egg allergy so she can not get the shot. And that is one reason the rest of us do get it. Last year my nephew got H1N1 and he too has an egg allergy so can not be vaccinated. He was so sick for weeks. I figure if we can keep us from getting the flu, then it will help keep her from getting it. Since I started getting the shot, I seldom get more then a small cold each year. But each family has to do what they feel is best for themselves. Keep in mind babies, elder and weaken ammune systems suffer more then you or I from the flu. Hope this helps.

I do not do the flu shot. although my son is vacinated up to 18 months I dont' plan on getting any more, and my next I am not going to have done at all. all while my son was getting his I was cringing the whole time but didn't really have the confidence to say no.

My youngest is 3 and has not been vaccinated yet. We will never do the flu shot for any of our kids. I will not give a healthy child who can fight off the flu the FLU shot. I agree with it being a money making thing. Good Luck with whatever you decide!

It's on Facebook! It's really awesome. I have not been able to pump enough to help anyone yet but I'm working on that! It's a global milk sharing program. There are different chapters for different states but if you just type in "Eats on Feets" in the Facebook search bar, you will be able to find a list of the different chapters. You can join whichever ones are closest for you. Of course you can also join them all if shipping is not a problem for you! If you choose to donate, people will generally ask for you to be tested for certain diseases and sometimes they are willing to pay for those tests in exchange for your milk. =)

The hardest part of deciding not to vaccinate is finding a doctor to respect your choices and treat your child anyway. So far we've gone through 3 doctors who have gone as far as to call me gullible, ignorant, and a reckless mom and kicking my daughter and I out of their offices! It doesn't help that I'm on medicaid and they already have a preconceived idea of low-income families. I finally got bold enough to go around to the different offices accepting my insurance and ask the receptionists straight out which doctors are known to be respectful and objective about parents decisions regarding vaccinations. My daughter's current doctor was not respectful at ALL towards our decision not to vaccinate at first but now she has accepted that we have no intention of vaccinating no matter what she says so she doesn't say much anymore and treats her normally and we were able to sign a waiver that releases the doctor from responsibility if the child contracts a "vaccine preventable" illness.

Hopefully your son's doctor will also be respectful and decide to treat your son even if you refuse vaccines.

Thank you Brittany for that website! Yet another reason I love breastfeeding! Thank you everyone! Just the type of responses I was looking for. There is so much pressure to vaccinate, and I just want nothing to do with it. Injecting my baby full of toxins is not something I want to do..especially after he got a shot last month, and had a fever and was non stop crying for two hours! I cancelled his appointment for shots this week to do some research, and I think I have found what I need, and am skipping out on vaccinations!

I think its a chose we all have to make. I had the flue with my 1st pregnancy and was saverly sick where I lost one of the babies It was durng the begining when they could not tell I was prgenet and found out latter when I lost the one thought back to it and put two and two together. I got this time I am pregnant and it just make you feel yucky but you don't get the flue. I got my daughter it because I did not want her to get it now that she is no longer brestfeed. Also they don't always get the right flue and you can still get the flue. Just if your little one does get it nurse not quite as long but more offten and don't give solids. Hope this helps.

We were told by our doctor that flu vaccinations usually don't work. they usually cover 11 strains of flu. There are about 25 main types of flus and many combos. He told us it's better to boost the immune system with vit c and d because if you vaccinate, you are essentially GIVING the baby the flu. He recommended if we do flu vaccines, not until 3 yrs of age. If you feel pressure to do it, don't. Your guts usually know more than what many medical degrees are spouting because yes, they do get money from the drugs you take.

It's got a wealth of information and citations of peer reviewed studies published in medical journals, fact sheets from vaccine manufacturers, etc. Just take a look along the lefthand menu to find specific pages on whatever pertains to you and your son.

My son and I have never and will never get a flu shot. My girls had it a few times, but now that their brother is older and I will never be pregnant again.... they won't be getting it either. It's not a shot that I feel comfortable w/ them/me getting.